WORK
Loosen your tie – work is getting more casual
Molly attends Huntington House’s ‘Knit and Natter’
CHARITY
‘Close-knit’ community brings pride and purpose to residents What’s better than a cuppa and a catch up? According to the residents of one care home, having a ‘Knit and Natter’. Offering a place to regularly meet, chat, and raise money for charity, the ‘Knit and Natter’ group at Huntington House care home, in Surrey, is helping to create a sense of pride and responsibility among its residents. Now an integral part of member’s lives, the group helps residents to rekindle fond memories and make new connections, and has quickly expanded to include staff, and members of the local Women’s Institute.
But the social benefits are just one side – the group knits items to support charitable projects including brooches for the Poppy Appeal, and blankets and hats for hospitals in the UK and South Africa to keep premature babies warm. Director of Huntington and Langham Estate, Charlie Hoare, said: “When you become reliant on others to care for you, you can feel a loss of self-worth. But finding a way to help others can often make up for losing the independence to look after yourself.” What a perfect way to spread a little warmth and cheer, wool-dn’t you agree? Writing | Bonnie Evie Gifford
Love casual Fridays? Well, new research suggests Monday to Thursday is getting less rigid too, as a poll carried out by Accountemps saw 91% of US managers agreeing that workplaces are less formal than they were 10 years ago. So what’s behind the shift? Managers speculate that more relaxed social norms, and organisations catering to a younger workforce, are behind the more laid back vibe. Where tattoos, piercings, and dyed hair were once a no-no in the office, a third of managers now agree that they’re sufficiently professional. Even the London Metropolitan Police has relaxed a ban on recruiting people with tattoos, saying they now consider body art on a “case-by-case basis”. But it’s not just the way we look that’s changing office culture, the way we communicate is, too – with 30% of managers saying emoji use and casual lingo is now more prevalent in emails. Self-expression is at the core of who we are and, considering we spend an average of 3,507 days at work in our lifetime, being our true selves full-time can only be a good thing. Writing | Kat Nicholls
March 2020 • happiful.com • 9
